Manchester United wants Rúben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s replacement
Rúben Amorim is set to leave Sporting CP to become the next manager of Manchester United. According to a statement released this afternoon by the Portuguese club, United are prepared to pay Sporting the manager’s €10 million release clause.
“Manchester United FC expressed interest in hiring coach Ruben Amorim, with Sporting’s board of directors referring to the terms and conditions set out in the employment contract in force between the company and the coach, specifically the respective termination clause and for the amount of €10 million,” the statement reads.
The possibility of Amorim replacing Erik ten Hag, who was sacked by Manchester United after a 2-1 loss to West Ham over the weekend, had been widely reported in sports newspapers in the UK and Portugal, which claim the 39-year-old Portuguese coach was United’s number one choice.
During a press conference on Monday ahead of Sporting’s League Cup match against Nacional tonight, Amorim refused to comment.
“I won’t speak about my future because if I say something like yes or no, I will have to comment. So I won’t. I’m very proud to be Sporting’s coach, that is all,” Amorim told reporters.
While Manchester United’s official willingness to pay Amorim’s release clause doesn’t necessarily mean that the Portuguese coach wants to move to Manchester, leading football transfers reporter Fabrizio Romano says Amorim has already accepted the move.
“Amorim has already said yes to Man Utd proposal as positive contacts over project took place this week,” Romano says.
If this proves to be true, tonight’s match against Nacional may well be Amorim’s last at the helm of Sporting, where he has won two ‘Primeira Liga’ league titles, two ‘Taças da Liga’ (League Cup) and one ‘Supertaça’ (Supercup), becoming the club’s most successful coach, by far, in the 21st century.
He will have quite the challenge ahead at Manchester United, which currently sits in the unbelievable 14th spot of the Premier League, with just 11 points in nine matches, and has failed to win any of its three Europa League matches so far.
Amorim will become the second Portuguese coach to take the top job at Manchester United after José Mourinho.
